Mark Beesley

Towcester Racecourse has sounded its latest strong message of commitment to National Hunt racing by acting swiftly to stage an extra fixture this Thursday.

With only 10 scheduled meetings in the calendar before this eleventh hour addition, the Northamptonshire track was always likely to hand out its cap to grab fresh dates handed out by racing’s authorities, just as it did in 2016/17.

Punters could have fallen into the trap of believing Towcester’s commitment to greyhound racing automatically spelled out a gradual decline in horse racing fixtures but as chief executive Kevin Ackerman stated last week: “Nothing could be further from the truth.

“Horse racing is very much an essential part of our business and we are committed to putting on additional fixtures whenever we get the opportunity.”

He added: “We are currently exploring ways in which we can lease additional fixtures from the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) from 2019 and beyond to once again bolster our number of horse racing meetings.

“We are also looking at ways that we can further improve the customer experience at Towcester.”

Only last Thursday, Towcester’s first jumping meeting of 2018 coincided with a fresh initiative by the course to do more for owners and stable staff.

They achieved this by offering complimentary meals on race days for both and plans are in place to provide further enhanced benefits for all key customers which will be unveiled shortly.

After a six-week break between fixtures after the pre-Christmas meeting on December 21, Towcester will stage a third meeting in 13 days on St Valentine’s Day next Wednesday.